A hint of anger flashed across Wang Ling's face, but he quickly controlled himself. The winner was in the right and the loser was in the wrong, and going by such a mindset, Zhen Mang could gloat however much he wanted. It was a given that Wang Yong showed himself inferior, and at the moment that Wu Guang turned serious, the duel ended almost instantly.

Wang Ling was not really close to his grand-nephew, but he was still a family member, and so he did worry a bit about his condition. The latter's pained shouts were still resounding, and so Wang Ling decided that Zhen Mang was right, the duel had ended.

"It seems that young friend Wu Guang is indeed something else. I concede in name of Wang Yong. When he recuperates, I will make him formally apologize and publicly admit that the accusations were wrong" Receiving a nod from Zhen Mang in approval, Wang Ling dispelled the barrier around the duel stage, before turning towards Wang Jia

"Go check on him"

Wang Jia would have moved even without any words, as it was her son the one currently rolling on the floor and screaming in pain. So being given permission, she darted towards him.

Wang Yong's condition wasn't life-threatening as Wu Guang had stopped in time. Still, at least four ribs were broken and he had a nasty-looking wound on his chest. The flames had already extinguished, but they had burned the wound and stopped any bleeding.

Wu Guang had descended the stage and moved towards the Zhen brothers. He dismissed the hostile glance that Wang Jia threw at him, as well the three or four admiring ones from the onlookers.

"Master, I have finished" Wu Guang shortly reported with a slight bow.

"Mmm. Great fight!" There was no need for any further provocations as the main deed was already done, and so Zhen Mang simply acknowledged Wu Guang's win.

Zhen Gan did the same, albeit he did note that it was regretful that Wu Guang had not used any weapons.

Neither Wu Guang nor the Zhen brothers intended to remain there any longer, and they also had to maintain their respective made-up stories.

During the combat, Zhen Gan had gone and spoken with Ding Jiang via qi transmission and invited him to go along them towards the Underhill base. As it was located pretty close to the Ding family town, the proposal was met with approval. Especially as Ding Jiang had decided to play it safe and support the 'Three Hills Sect' for now.

"Advisor Wang. We will be leaving. I hope that this matter does not strain the relationships between our sects"

"Yes, I do hope the same" Wang Ling replied coldly.

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A few minutes later, five people left the Arena. After moving a few miles, they stopped at a crossroad. The western path was the one that Wu Guang had come from a few hours ago, leading towards Coastal Hill City. While the eastern one would pass through the Qiu family lands and enter the Main Trade Tract that crossed the three powers' territories.

Here the two elites that had accompanied Wu Guang before, Ren Ah and Liang Chin joined the group.

The Zhen brothers accompanied by the Ding family head and a friend of his that had come with him said their farewells to Wu Guang and took the Western road.

As for Wu Guang, he would use the Trade Tract openly to return to his Sect. This was all planned by Elder Mo, and so accompanied by the two almost usual guards, he set off.

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The journey would usually take about 5 hours, but it was already late so there was the need to move slower while illuminating the path. Moving like this, they were an obvious target, albeit who would dare to attack three cultivators? It turned out that there was indeed someone who intended to do so.

Wu Guang had actually noticed that someone was following them since they left the arena. Zhen Mang had also noticed it and had given exact instructions to the three of them. Whenever their follower acts, Ren Ah and Liang Chin are supposed to fight or stall for time while Wu Guang runs off. After the two elites lose sight of Wu Guang, they have to either fight and capture their opponent, or if they can not, break off and rush towards the Sect.

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The one following them was a 2nd level Soul realm cultivator called Yi He. She was actually an aide to Wang Jin and part of the 'Shadow Leaf Sect'. Albeit as she did not occupy any position and her cultivation was not high enough, she had been part of the group that did not approach the Zhen brothers. Her mistress had given her the order to follow Wu Guang, and not lose sight of him. If the latter separated from the Zhen brothers and traveled alone, then she would capture him on her own. If not, then she would have to send a message glyph explaining the situation.

She did as instructed and had been following Wu Guang since he left the arena. She confirmed that the Zhens had left, but Wu Guang had gotten two escorts, something that she reported right away before continuing to follow him.

A message glyph could not reach her as she was currently traveling, but her mistress said that if the situation required it, someone would meet her on the border of the Qiu family territory.

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It took almost two hours for Wu Guang and the two elites to enter the proper Main Tract and leave the Qiu family lands. A few miles ahead, the territory controlled by the 'Leaf Shadow Sect' would start, and if something were to happen, it would probably happen in the next few minutes. And it did.

The person that was covertly following them suddenly darted forwards and entered Ren Ah and Liang Chin's detection range.

This made them signal Wu Guang to stop, and the three got on guard.

A few moments later, someone whose body and face was concealed by a black cloak entered the range of the luminous stones they were holding.

Acting as instructed, the two elites took out their weapons and closed the path of this cloaked figure.

"We are from the Discipline Palace of the 'Three Hills Sect'. Stop right there" Both of them said in unison.

The cloaked figure, a disguised Yi He, acted as if she had not heard them, and taking out her own weapon, a thin sword, engaged them in combat.

"The aura is from a 2nd level Soul realm cultivator. Wu Guang, rush ahead. We will stall for time so leave us and continue by yourself" Ren Ah said towards Wu Guang after his sword clashed with the attacker.

"Got it, be careful!" With these words, Wu Guang used his utmost speed and took off. He followed the road, and so was moving towards the north. The Leaf Shadow territory was not very big, and so he would be able to cross it in an hour. And after he did, he would enter a small patch of road that was under the control of the 'Flowing Leaves City'. By the plan, he would need to reach that point by himself, and there he would meet with Palace Master Chen, who would reveal the contents of the mission.

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There was a reason for Yi He acting so suddenly. This all was because of a sign drawn on the side of the road. Wu Guang had noticed it, but he did not know the significance of it and so could not have guessed that it was a message for their follower. Actually, no one would understand that the drawing of half a leaf on a signboard was a message. The contents were simple and actually consisted of a single instruction 'Encircle the prey'. She did not know who had left it there, but she was sure it was done by the reinforcements her mistress had mentioned.

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Wu Guang had run for about half an hour when he was ambushed by two cultivators. He did notice their presence before they even knew he was approaching, but as there was no way to avoid them, Wu Guang stepped into the trap.

Zhen Mang's instructions also contained a part about such a possibility. He had said that if Wu Guang was ambushed, he had to attempt to run away and lead the attackers into Master Chen. If escape was not possible, then Wu Guang had to crush an emergency rune beacon that had been passed to him. This beacon was basically a one-time use treasure capable of sending one's location to a receiver.

In this case, the receiver was in Elder Chen's hands, so he would know that Wu Guang encountered trouble and rush towards the scene.

But Wu Guang did not plan to do so, in fact, he was actually looking forward to such ambush. He wanted to fight a Soul realm cultivator, and now he was given that opportunity. He already sensed that both of his ambushers were 1st level of the Soul realm, and so when they jumped out of concealment, he was ready to meet them. "They are most probably elites or core disciples from the 'Shadow Leaf Sect'. Considering their level, they would be at the maximum allowed to learn a single martial skill, and there was no guarantee that they have already mastered it. In such case, they will resort to the Shadow techniques or some other spirit techniques from their sect". Wu Guang's thoughts were right, as both of his ambushers instantly covered themselves in 'Shadow Armor' and attacked him, weapons in hand.

The one coming from the left side used a two-handed ax, while the one coming from the right was holding a staff. Both of the weapons were meant for close combat and would have an advantage in range against a sword or a blade.

*Clash*

Wu Guang took a step to the left to dodge the staff and took out his 'Sun Disks' to block the ax.

The Soul realm was considered as the realm of experts on this plane not only because of the usage of martial skills but also because of the qualitative change that every level would give to the cultivator. Even a 1st level Soul realm cultivator was physically stronger than a Spirit realm cultivator.

Wu Guang knew this and so had used qi to increase his own strength. Still, he sled backward a few inches and he felt his arms shaking from the after-impact. "It seems that they are indeed not common level. The strength I used should be comparable to a normal 2nd level, and even so I was a bit short".

The attackers only concealed their faces, but even if they weren't, Wu Guang did not know anything about their Sect members to identify them. If he did, he could find out that he was being attacked by the officially recognized top 29 and top 13 core disciples of the 'Leaf Shadow Sect'. Both of them were also part of the Wang family.

The ax user occupied 29th place in the ranking for a few years already. His name was Wang Heng and he was almost 30 years old. He had not made any advances in cultivation for almost a decade, and so was considered to have reached his limit. Still, because of his physical talent, with strength that equaled a 3rd level of the Soul realm while being two levels lower, he was not forced out or asked to graduate yet. Both the Sect and the Wang's hoped that he would be able to overcome the barrier and advance.

The rank 13 core disciple that used a staff was called Wang Bo. He was fairly young, being only 21 years old, and had just obtained his rank. Normally he would be considered a genius and be heavily invested into, but he was not. The reason was that his soul had been damaged during the breakthrough. He was indeed strong, but he would never advance on the path of cultivation. At least if he did not have a fortuitous encounter or someone found him a Soul restoring pill. The former was left to luck, as for the latter, its cost was so high that even Wang Ling, the family head, would think several times before requesting one.

Neither of them knew why they had to attack and capture Wu Guang, but they were tasked to. One of the superior managers of the Wang family had called for them an hour ago and instructed them to do so. If they were successful, then they could request a serious reward. With both having their troubles and such prize coming to them, how could have they not accepted?